The question this week comes from Paul via email; “What are the benefits of my players being exposed to mixed experiences against players at a better level or older ages?” Additional Resources Ebook: Coaching Fundamentals: Six Steps to Creating Quality...
PDP Video Session Plans are adaptable sessions designed by academy coach, Dave Wright. All sessions show key focus points, set up, and progressions so you can use them in your next practice.
Dan Robinson is the Academy Manager at Burton Albion FC in England and a former Assistant Coach & Goalkeeper Coach with the New Zealand Women’s team. In this Masterclass Discussion, PDP Editor Dave Wright sits down with Dan to discuss...
Have you claimed your free ebook yet?
Coaching Fundamentals: Six Steps to Creating Quality Training Sessions Your Players Will Love
Download Now FREEThe question this week comes from Michael via email; “I’m new to the club and still getting to know the players. I have one U14 player who is unhappy and doesn’t appear to be getting along with team mates and...
What is leadership? Mark Upton, Co-creator of myfastestmile and world class coach developer discusses leadership in sport, some of the traditional perspectives of what leadership is and the importance of empathy and collaboration. “They are after strong leadership…someone to come...
PDP Video Session Plans are adaptable sessions designed by academy coach, Dave Wright. All sessions show key focus points, set up, and progressions so you can use them in your next practice.
Sara Santos, Sergio Jiménez, Jaime Sampaio, Nuno Leite The Big Idea When you sit a spell and think over the major point of session planning in sports, you can’t avoid the big idea of transformation. Hence, such training programs are...
The question this week comes from Appleton AFC via Twitter; “What are your thoughts on equal playing time for players between U7 – U17?” Additional Resources Ebook: Coaching Fundamentals: Six Steps to Creating Quality Youth Soccer Training Sessions Your...
Ken Lynch is a High Performance Athlete Development Consultant at High Performance Sport New Zealand and works with sports people across a range of codes. Originally from Ireland, Ken is an expert in high performance athlete pathways, athlete talent identification...
Welcome to the home of
quality coaching ideas.
Player Development Project is all about providing valuable learning content to coaches.
When you start your PDP Membership, you will get unlimited access to all content and a fully customised experience based on the topics you choose to follow. PDP Members can save their favourite articles or session plans for later using the My Bookmarks feature.
So what are you waiting for? Join the PDP community today.
How can coaches develop healthier team dynamics? Rugby coach and blogger David Sharkey shares an insightful article on the value of understanding your why and the benefit of being vulnerable as a coach and leader. A man who knows...
The question this week comes from Ryan, via Twitter; “What advice for you have for half-time team talks with foundation phase aged players?” Additional Resources Ebook: Coaching Fundamentals: Six Steps to Creating Quality Youth Soccer Training Sessions Your Players...
PDP Video Session Plans are adaptable sessions designed by academy coach, Dave Wright. All sessions show key focus points, set up, and progressions so you can use them in your next practice.
PDP Video Session Plans are adaptable sessions designed by academy coach, Dave Wright. All sessions show key focus points, set up, and progressions so you can use them in your next practice.
The question this week comes from Gordon, via email; “I’ve just started coaching teenagers for the first time, do you have any advice?” Additional Resources Ebook: Coaching Fundamentals: Six Steps to Creating Quality Youth Soccer Training Sessions Your Players...
Ase Strandbu, Kari Stefansen, Ingrid Smette, and Morten Rensio Sandvik The Big Idea “Involved parenthood” in organized youth sports is what these Norwegian researchers are attempting to better understand. Child-centered parenting they note—using the United States as an example—is still...
Most Popular
- Session Plans
- Session Plans
- Q&A Videos
- The Blog
- The Blog
- The Magazine
Editor's Picks
A curated collection of top PDP content.
The question this week comes from Sean: “Many of the parents in my team are exceptionally vocal, often coaching the players from the sideline and contradicting the ideas that I am working with in my group. Do you have any...
In our very first PDP Live Session, UEFA A licensed coach, Dave Wright demonstrates a 4 v 4 + 4 possession and positional practice.Working with twelve U15 players, Dave demonstrates how coaches can deliver an opposed passing and possession practice with a number of technical aims. This practice provides high repetition of passing receiving skills under pressure, variety of decision-making and encourages players to take up positions in space so they can play forward early.Dave includes some individual challenges for central players and goalkeepers as well as working on quick transition. This session can be adapted from 9-15 players and distances adjusted to alter difficulty in or out of possession. Dave will talk through what he’s observing as the session unfolds and work with the players on taking risks, encourage players to decide when to keep possession or progress with the ball, work on different receiving shapes and how to break lines with forward passes.
Tony Readings is an International Coach who has attended two Olympics and three FIFA Women’s World Cups with the New Zealand Women’s team. He is the holder of the AFC Pro License and the UEFA A license and has been...
Michael Beale has had the privilege of coaching some of the best young talent in England from the very beginning of their developmental journey. A UEFA A license holder with 10 years experience at Chelsea FC before making the move to Liverpool FC where he now manages the U21s, Michael gives us an in depth...
Join us for a video discussion with National Coach Education Manager from Football Federation Australia, Sean Douglas. Regular PDP host Dave Wright is joined by Lead Researcher, James Vaughan in a wide ranging discussion. We cover topics including: The value...
In this webinar discussion, PDP Technical Advisor Dan Wright joins PDP Editor, Dave Wright to discuss what constraints are and provide practical examples of session plans you can implement with your players.These two UEFA A licensed coaches go in depth to discuss the environment, the task and the person and cover a range of practical football topics and solutions for coaches to use ...
The FIFA saga is not a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away. It is here and now. Our game is being used and abused for personal gain, but what does it all mean, who is to blame...
Joseph Baker, Jean Cote, and Bruce Abernathy The Big Idea When asked about his early years, hockey great Wayne Gretzky, said: “I played everything. I played lacrosse, baseball, hockey, soccer, track and field. I was a big believer that you...
Systems tend to dominate organisational thinking in the modern age. So how do these systems potentially harm player development and participation? Co-founder of myfastestmile & regular PDP contributor, Mark Upton discusses the dangers of a ‘mechanistic’ approach to sport and...
Turn Your Club Into a Learning Environment.
Start your PDP Club Partnership today and engage all your coaches in ongoing coach education.
OUR FOUNDING PARTNER CLUBS
Fulham FC
Birmingham City FC
AIK FC
Brisbane Roar FCAthletes can tie their entire identity to their sporting exploits. PDP contributor & mental performance expert, John Haime shares insight into the challenge for athletes coming to the end of their career, illustrating the importance of developing the person. The...
Cameron Knowles has been part of the Portland Timbers organisation for well over a decade. Following a 7 year professional playing career at Real Salt Lake, the Timbers and Montreal Impact, Cameron made the move into coaching where he worked...
Awareness, decision-making, perception and execution are all part of skill acquisition. PDP contributor & Founder of TOVO Institute, Todd Beane shares an article on coaching methodology to enhance players cognitive fitness. Are your players cognitively fit? If you are like...
PDP Video Session Plans are adaptable sessions designed by academy coach, Dave Wright. All sessions show key focus points, set up, and progressions so you can use them in your next practice.
PDP Video Session Plans are adaptable sessions designed by academy coach, Dave Wright. All sessions show key focus points, set up, and progressions so you can use them in your next practice.
J. Bartholomew, N. Ntoumanis, and C. Ntoumanis The Big Idea Let’s begin this research review with an illustration. In sports, there is a difference between players who are merely involved and players who are fully committed. (You will have to...
The question this week comes from Dave, via Twitter: “Is hunger or desire coachable? I have some Under 13 players who are lacking in desire but they have a good technical base.” Additional Resources Research Review – Controlling Motivational...
Frenkie De Jong is one of Dutch Football’s brightest stars. PDP Lead Researcher James Vaughan examines a recent interview with De Jong and shares some brilliant research around knowledge and learning, helping coaches understand how to create a learning environment...